After Trying to Find Ways to Get Rid of Her, Fox Schedules Program Featuring Paula Deen

Even after Fox executives considered a range of options for getting Paula Deen off the schedule, the network will air an episode of "MasterChef" featuring the disgraced celebrity chef, the Los Angeles Times’ Show Tracker reports.

Executives considered not airing the episode, or trying to edit her out of the show, but neither idea was realistic, the story says. The editing would have disrupted a key section in the show’s competition.

The episode was taped in March, before the former Food Network celebrity damaged her career by admitting that she had used racial epithets. Deen had appeared on the show before, and was a hit with the show’s viewers, the piece notes.

Deen’s "appearance sets the stage for potentially cringe-worthy moments of Deen oozing her ‘Hey Y’all’ drawl while the controversy over her use of racially charged language still hangs in the air," the article points out.